


Coffee Shop

by nommonkeypie



Series: Coffee Shop [1]
Category: Block B
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bar/Pub, Gen, M/M, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-07-25 22:03:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20033071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nommonkeypie/pseuds/nommonkeypie
Summary: What do you do when the annoying drunk at your bar shows up at your coffee shop as the newest employee you get to train? Well, that's what Jaehyo gets to figure out.





	Coffee Shop

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a fun little thing. Stories will get updated/added whenever.

“What happened to your wings? You gotta be an angel.” 

Jaehyo rolled his eyes as he heard the guy at the end of the bar slur out the words. He knew the guy wasn’t talking to him. No, knowing her luck, the guy was talking to Jaehyo’s coworker Hyebin. She was a great girl and unfortunately for her, she was also quite pretty.

He shot a quick glance towards her and her end of the bar. She could usually handle her own but Jaehyo still looked out for her. She wasn’t a kid but she was young enough that he felt a sort of brotherly protectiveness towards her and so, he tried to keep an eye out for trouble just in case.

Hyebin appeared to be ignoring the guy. Good for her.

Jaehyo worked his way towards her end of the bar though. “Trade sides?” He offered once he was working on a drink next to her.

She looked up, clearly surprised to see him next to her. Still, her surprise faded almost instantly, replaced by a look of gratitude. “If you don’t mind,” she answered.

It was a simple enough move and one they’d done a countless number of times. Jaehyo took a step back and over while she slipped past him. He continued down towards the end of the bar that held the drunk and she carried on towards where Jaehyo had been.

The guy who’d attempted to hit on Hyebin was sprawled across the bar. He had an empty glass next to his hand. He was just staring at it mournfully.

“I wan’ another,” he called out when he realized there was someone new behind the bar. “Tha girl said I was done but I’m na’ done.”

Jaehyo winced as the smell of alcohol hit him. It was just coming off this guy in waves. Still, he’d been tending bar for long enough that he knew exactly how to handle a guy like this without riling the guy up. Reaching out, Jaehyo took the used glass and hid it behind the bar where customers couldn’t see. He filled it up with water from the soda gun and slid it back towards the guy.

Had he just broken a ridiculous number of safety regulations? Most definitely. Had he cut the guy off without causing a scene? Yes. It was only something that Jaehyo did when he felt like it was necessary. This guy was clearly drunk off his rocker and giving him any more alcohol was likely to cause a fight or send him to the hospital.

The guy mumbled out something that sounded like a ‘thanks’ but it was hard to say for sure. Jaehyo moved on, serving the next person. He tried to keep an eye out for the drunk. If nothing else, he wanted to make sure the guy didn’t move and bother Hyebin again. Still, it was easy to lose track of people. They were busy. At some point, the guy vanished though. Not much Jaehyo could do about that. Besides, it wasn’t like he wanted to babysit the drunk. And anyways, if he wanted to do that, he had any number of them to pick from.

Hyebin made her way over to him. “Go take a quick break,” she told him. “You look tired.”

Jaehyo knew he should probably insist that he was fine but honestly? He was tired. “Are you working your other job later?” Hyebin asked as she set a cold drink in front of him. He knew from experience that it was just flavored water. Neither of them drank while on the job. It would be too much a liability. Besides, getting sloshed wasn’t exactly a thing Jaehyo enjoyed.

Nodding a yes, Jaehyo took the drink and headed towards the back of the house. It was quieter here since customers weren’t allowed back there. A cocktail waitress sat in a chair, her eyes closed as she attempted to sleep. Jaehyo didn’t blame her one bit. He wasn’t quite that tired but give him a few more hours and he’d be ready to join her.

It took a few minutes but he finally felt ready to go back out to the bar. And the next few hours fell into a steady, busy rhythm. Take orders, make drinks, give them to the people who ordered. Rinse and repeat for the next several hours.

He, Hyebin, their last waitress, and their bouncer were the last to leave at 3 in the morning. The waitress and bouncer walked to the bus stop just down the street. Hyebin’s sister was waiting for her, ready to drive them both home. And Jaehyo? He started walking. He had almost an hour to get to his next job. It normally took him a twenty minute walk so he had plenty of time.

Time enough to change his shirt and make himself a bowl of raymeon and eat it. The owner of the coffee shop didn’t mind if Jaehyo came in early. He knew about Jaehyo’s other job and besides, if Jaehyo came in early, that meant the owner could sleep and come in later. Normally the early morning was pretty slow anyways so it worked out well.

The bar filled Jaehyo’s evenings and nights. And the coffee shop was his mornings. It was a life without time to rest but it was his life and that was that. He checked his phone to see what the time was and noticed a message he hadn’t seen earlier.

_New guy coming in at 5am. Train him for me? I’ll pay extra for this._

Jaehyo groaned. Really? A new guy. Great. Just what Jaehyo wanted to deal with at too early in the morning. It was probably some guy who had never worked a day in his life and would have too much energy and absolutely no brain.

The coffee shop officially opened at 6am. The couple of hours that Jaehyo officially worked before that 6am opening was spent setting them up for the day. Personally, he enjoyed the time. Yes it was boring but it was also relaxing. Moving tables and chairs around to create a cozy atmosphere. Putting the cups away after the evening crew left them by the sink to dry. Grabbing supplies from the backroom and restocking.

Just before five in the morning, someone knocked on the door. Jaehyo looked up from where he was fixing the books on the small bookshelf. He dropped the book in his hand.

That...that was the drunk from earlier. The one who’d attempted to hit on Hyebin. This was going to suck.

Jaehyo opened the door and stared. That’s all he had the energy to do for the longest moment. “Are you still drunk?” He asked after what felt like the longest time.

The guy stared back at him. His eyes were clearly red-rimmed and he still smelled faintly of alcohol. At least he’d changed clothes. He kept looking at Jaehyo, a frown on his face.

“Do I know you?” He finally asked. His words still had a faint slur to them but he’d clearly sobered up at least some.

“You were way too drunk at my bar earlier,” Jaehyo replied. “I really don’t think I should let you in.” This guy wasn’t sober, not completely, and it’d be hours before he reached that point. Not exactly someone who was ready to work.

Recognition filled the guy’s eyes as he looked Jaehyo up and down again. The guy flushed, a sign of his embarrassment. “Shit. Sorry about that. About earlier.”

Jaehyo sighed and stepped aside, letting the guy come into the coffee shop. It wasn’t much but the guy did appear to be at least capable of being rational. If nothing else, he could spend his time cleaning. That’s basically all the guy was good for right now anyways.

The guy came in. He had this apologetic and grateful air to him. Jaehyo knew he should send this guy home. He didn’t.

“Coffee?” Jaehyo asked as he locked the door. There was still an hour before customers were supposed to come in after all. “I always make a pot for myself and there’s still some left.” He didn’t exactly like the taste of the stuff but the caffeine helped him make it through his shift.

The guy nodded. He even smiled a little. It was a nice smile. Really softened up the guy’s features. That was good because he had a look that was definitely naturally intimidating. Between his height and the downturned expression, this guy wasn’t exactly putting out friendly vibes. Jaehyo really hoped the guy wouldn’t scare anyone away.

“What’s your name, new guy? I need something to call you,” Jaehyo said as he handed over a clean, empty mug and poured coffee into it. He’d let the new guy fix it however he wanted.  
“I’m Woo Jiho,” the guy answered. “And you, hyung?”

Ooh, good. At least this guy wasn’t too drunk to forget his manners. Looking at the guy, he was probably reaching that happy almost-sober end of tipsy. “Ahn Jaehyo.”

They didn’t speak for a little bit. Jiho was too busy drinking the coffee and trying to sober up a little more. Jaehyo was doing his best to ignore the guy and get the store ready for the day.

“Mornings are usually pretty slow,” Jaehyo said after a bit. He could see sunlight starting to creep over the horizon but they still had some time before the sun was actually up. “Especially right when we open. It usually gets busy from around 7 to 8 and then it picks up again around 11.”

Thankfully Jaehyo was gone by the time the lunch crowd started up. It was something he’d made extremely clear when he’d been hired. He’d already had the bartending job when he’d started here. Besides, he opened the store and usually dealt with everything alone until 10 when the rest of the staff started showing up to work the lunch, afternoon, and evening groups.

“Is there anything I should do?” Jiho asked after he was done with his coffee.

“Honestly?” Jaehyo began with a shrug. “There’s not much you can do right now but that’s fine. Keep an eye on the tables and clean them when needed. Keep an eye on the trash and make sure it doesn’t overflow. The table there,” he continued, nodding towards the table Jiho had fixed his coffee at, “always needs to be kept looking nice and well-stocked. Everything but the creamer is under the table. Creamer’s back here by me so just say something when it’s needed.”

“Oh!” Jaehyo grinned as he added, “and keep an eye on the dishes. If they need washing, you can do that for today. That should keep you pretty busy but shouldn’t have you feeling overwhelmed. Once you got this stuff down, we can start working on training you for other stuff.”

Another nod from Jiho. It was quickly followed by a yawn. “Does this get any easier?” He asked, unable to stop another yawn. “The early time, I mean.”

Jaehyo laughed and shook his head. “Nope.”


End file.
